Florida. A family member's spouse has been absent from the marriage more than present and has abandoned their child off an on throughout the last almost 18 years. She is in prison again. During one of her stints in prison, he purchased a house. His son is almost 18, so the house is the only concern. How can he protect his only asset and get a divorce without her signing the papers?
This highlights the danger of people who are not party to an action starting threads. You don't have all the facts. More importantly, you're making emotional statements which have no legal meaning. For example:
How do you abandon a child off and on? You either abandon the child or you don't.
How is absence from marriage relevant? And what does it mean? I know a happily married couple where the husband travels around the world and is away from home at least 70% of the time. The wife also travels and is gone some of the time he is there. He is absent more than he is present. So what?
There's not enough information to answer the question about the house, either. The house would normally be marital property, but if it were purchased with an inheritance and not mingled with marital funds, then it would be his separate property.
Have the person involved post the relevant legal facts and a specific question.